LCC accepting nominations for Organization of the Year
The Law College Council is currently accepting nominations for the Organization of the Year Award. The award is presented to the organization that provided the College of Law with the most education benefits through programming and community service during the 2008-09 academic year. If you would like to nominate an organization, please send an e-mail to Shylie Armon, shylie@ufl.edu, LCC secretary, with a brief description of why you think the organization deserves the award by 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15.

There is still time to apply for law clinics
It’s not too late to apply for a clinic for summer or fall 2009. Interested in counseling clients, advocating for children, prosecuting or defending in a criminal case, mediating in county court, or even doing a jury trial? Clinics offer the rare opportunity to apply classroom theory in a practice setting while learning valuable skills. Students are closely supervised by one of our highly experienced clinical professors/practitioners. In a number of the clinics, students gain valuable experience collaborating with social workers, mental health and family counselors, or dispute resolution experts. Remember that the Florida Board of Bar Examiner clearance letter is required to submit an application for a clinic. The deadline for submitting an application is Tuesday, April 14, at noon in Student Affairs. Clinic offers will be e-mailed late on April 14. You must respond via e-mail to robinsone@law.ufl.edu within 24 hours. Upon acceptance of the offer, you must go to the clinics to complete the CLI application paperwork within 48 hours. You will be automatically registered for the clinic during advanced registration.

Fall Supreme Court externship deadline April 24
Applications are available for 5-credit spring semester externship at the Florida Supreme Court. Information packets now available in CGR, 230 Bruton-Geer and Career Services. Application deadline is Friday, April 24 at noon. For more information, contact Tim McLendon in CGR, mclendon@law.ufl.edu, or 273-0835.

Josh Lukman takes home first place in art show
The reception for the 4th annual Levin College of Law Faculty and Student Art Show was a success. After a close vote, Josh Lukman won first place with his photos from South Africa “Ten Seconds,” Donna Vincent took second place with “A Serendipitous Sunset,” and Caroleen Brej took third place for “Mahi-Mahi.” All selections will be displayed in the main hall of the Legal Information Center for students to view in the upcoming weeks. Students interested in planning next year’s show should contact Dean Kathie Price.

Lena Hinson wins a Davis Productivity Award
The Davis Productivity Awards, an annual program honoring state government employees throughout Florida, has announced its winners for 2009. Lena Hinson, program assistant at the Levin College of Law, was nominated in fall 2008 by Professors Flournoy and Cohn and recently received the award for streamlining procedures for both the Environmental & Land Use Law and International Programs. She assisted in the administration of a new degree program, implemented new rules applied to visiting foreign faculty, budget preparation and review of operating figures. She also provided considerable assistance to another program during a staff transition.

Jessup International Moot Court congratulates new members
Congratulations to the newest members of the Jessup International Law Moot Court. This year’s spring tryouts were incredibly competitive, with many fine participants to choose from. After a difficult and time-consuming process, the following 16 individuals have been asked to join the Jessup Moot Court: Steve Blickensderfer, Adam Bregman, Paul Cipparone, John DiRico, Jennifer Duclair, John Errico, Matthew Kozyra, Lindsey Franco, David Hughes, Julianne Parker, Jennifer Shepard, Jason Taylor, Marianna Tuninskaya, Jennifer White, Daniel Wu and Jason Yoepp. These candidate members will compete in the fall for an opportunity to be on the UF Jessup Competition Team, which will travel to Miami to compete in the U.S. Southeast Super-Regional of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the world’s largest moot court competition. Beyond that, they may qualify for the International Rounds in Washington, D.C.

Their project had two major components. The first was a table set up in the courtyard where men could make their pledges and all students were invited to hand-paint t-shirts representing victims of domestic violence. The second was an April 9 presentation by Teresa Drake, assistant state attorney for the 8th Judicial Circuit, and Lynn Cooke, an attorney for Three Rivers Legal Services and president of Alachua County’s task force against domestic violence.

“There’s only one cause of domestic violence, and that’s the batterer,” Drake stated, lamenting the way in which victims are often blamed not only by their batterers but also by society for their abuse. She explained that often during a trial for domestic abuse, jurors will think, ‘well, if it’s so bad, then why didn’t she just leave?’

When she subpoenas a victim of domestic violence, Drake said that she is certain to tell her, “I am so sorry that this happened to you. You don’t deserve it.”

“I can tell that it’s often the first time that she’s heard that,” Drake said, adding that a victim’s reasons for staying are highly complex, both psychologically and logistically.

For many women, their batterers are their only sources of financial support and they fear leaving the home that they have known behind, taking only their children and whichever belongings they are able to hastily pack into an overnight bag. For these women, they know that “the batterer may destroy everything they left behind – their pets, their personal belongings, everything,” Drake said.

According to Drake, 70 percent of women who are killed by their batterers are killed while trying to leave. She also described an ongoing tension with the Department of Children and Families who sometimes accuse a woman in an abusive relationship of failing to protect her children, countering that perhaps, “in staying in that relationship, is she keeping them alive?”

Cooke discussed how civil remedies such as injunctions against an abuser may also help keep a victim safe. The benefit of having an injunction is what Cooke referred to as a “collateral benefit” that is not dependent on the outcome of a criminal case. If an abuser violates an injunction, the victim may seek relief within the criminal or civil system, depending on the circumstances, Cooke said.

Another primary reason for women staying in abusive relationships, Drake explained, is the cycle of violence. Drake described women in abusive relationships as having fallen in love with their abusers before the abuse began.

“When you fall in love, the person has no flaws. They’re perfect. And you’re trying your best to be perfect.”

Then, there’s an act of violence followed by extreme remorse on the part of the abuser along with shifting blame from himself onto perhaps drugs or alcohol or, in some cases, onto the victim. Drake notes, however, that domestic violence is never caused by drugs or alcohol, but always by “power and control.”

While her abuser is in the remorse period, the victim again sees the man she fell in love with, what Drake calls “the flowers and hearts guy,” and says that it is not until the victim recognizes that the “flowers and hearts” guy is not the real person, but rather that the batterer is, that the cycle stops.

The inspiration for the project, Kelley and Wick said, was the recognition of a “need for men to take a stand and realize that [domestic violence] is a male issue as well.” Both students agreed that from this project, they have been impressed with the response from men who stopped at the table to learn more about domestic violence and to pledge to never become an abuser.

Justice Rivlin was named deputy president of the court in 2006. He began his judicial career in 1976 and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2000. While on the bench, Justice Rivlin has also taught law school courses in torts and constitutional law. Recently, the Journal was honored when Justice Rivlin accepted an invitation to sit on the Journal’s Advisory Board.

Justice Rivlin’s work, titled “Thoughts on Referral to Foreign Law, Global Chain-novel, and Novelty,” examines the use or lack thereof of foreign legal authorities by courts around the world. Throughout his thought-provoking piece, Justice Rivlin takes aim at such legal luminaries as Judge Richard Posner and justices of both the Canadian and Israeli Supreme Courts.

Rivlin states, “[r]eferral to foreign law does not necessarily mean the adoption of foreign choices or reliance on foreign experiences in reaching a judicial decision. It does mean a better evaluation of competing options, an available source of empirical experience and a source of novel ideas and knowledge.”

Rivlin examines the debate which often occurs when courts in the United States refer to foreign law. The controversy over reference to foreign law, writes Rivlin, often stems from disagreement over the proper approach the U.S. Supreme Court should take towards interpreting the Constitution of the United States.

Ultimately, Rivlin contends that referral to foreign law serves an important goal: overcoming domestic juristic biases. Rivlin explains that status quo biases are hurtful to the development of domestic law when they are based on irrationality or chill the evolution of modern law. The journal is proud to have this contribution from such an esteemed jurist and looks forward to future contributions by Justice Rivlin.

“It was stunning news,” said Dougherty. “I’d submitted an entry but never expected to hear anything about it.”

The award came with $2,000 and an expenses-paid trip to the section’s annual spring meeting in Washington, D.C. “It’s the big get-together for antitrust practitioners,” Dougherty said. “I met leading lawyers, circuit judges, and economists. It was a great experience.”

Dougherty’s winning entry was his published law review note, which dealt with a newer theory of personal jurisdiction in antitrust cases. The note stemmed from research he’d done during his 1L summer for Professor William H. Page.

“Many people I met at the meeting knew of Professor Page’s scholarship and spoke highly of him,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty is editor- in chief of the Florida Law Review. After graduation he will clerk for U.S. Circuit Judge Charles R. Wilson of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Dougherty came to law school after serving as a reporter with the Pulitzer Prize-winning St. Petersburg Times for a decade. Dougherty’s last job for the newspaper was covering federal courts and agencies in Tampa. Dougherty fondly recalls the experience, which he feels started him on the path to law school.

“The federal courthouse always had interesting cases going on,” Dougherty said. “I was learning more about the cases than I needed to for the stories I wrote.”

In 2000, Dougherty took his interest in the legal profession one step further by working as an investigator for the Tampa-based law firm James, Hoyer P.A. Dougherty investigated a narrow class of consumer cases, mostly involving financial disputes.

After arriving at UF Law in 2006, Dougherty, who graduated from Princeton University, was excited to be learning again after having worked for so long. Law school has served as an intellectual respite from the working world, he said.

Being older than many of his classmates has been both interesting and fun. Dougherty has even been referred to as ‘dad’ by one of his classmates.

“There’s something about being in school that makes you feel younger in experience no matter how old you are.”

Looking back on his success in law school, Dougherty is more grateful to no one more than his wife, Taylor Ward.

“If you think reading a torts book is hard, dealing with young children when your husband isn’t around is harder. We’re both very excited that we’re almost at the end of this part of the journey.”

Brennen co-authored Tax Law of Charities and Other Exempt Organizations (Thomson/West) with UF Law Professor Steve Willis and two other co-authors. He was a speaker at the UF Nelson Symposium in 2003 and spoke on a Center for the Study of Race & Race Relations panel at UF in 2002. He also published in the Florida Tax Review in 2002.

Brennen is joining the University of Kentucky from the University of Georgia School of Law where he has been a professor since 2006 and from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) where he is completing a two year term as deputy director. Along with more than 15 years of experience in the classroom, Brennen is regarded as an innovator in the field of nonprofit law. He is a co-founder and co-editor of Nonprofit Law Prof Blog, founding editor of Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law Abstracts, co-founder of the AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law and a co-author of one of the first law school casebooks on taxation of nonprofit organizations.

Spending time both as an educator and a legal scholar, Brennen brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position of dean. Brennen received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida Atlantic University and his law degree from the University of Florida College of Law, where he also received his LL.M. in tax law. In 2002, Brennen was elected to the American Law Institute where he is an adviser on its project titled, “Principles of the Law of Nonprofit Organizations.” He is also an active member of the Florida Bar Association. Brennen has also served in leadership roles with AALS and the Society of American Law Teachers.

“I am thrilled to be joining the faculty at UK Law and leading the law school as it embarks on a mission to expand an already superb legal education program,” said Brennen. “Despite the current fiscal challenges, the future is very bright. There are opportunities for increased interdisciplinary activity, expanded curricular options and improved physical facilities. I also expect that UK Law will continue to have a positive influence on legal developments in all spheres – locally, nationally and worldwide. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as dean at such a burgeoning legal institution.”

His dog had died in January.

He wrote a letter to animal control explaining this, but Kray still had to go to court for it. When he got there with his dog’s ashes in tow, the bailiff told him he would still probably lose.

The animal control officer cited his computer as to why Kray needed a registration.

“I asked him, ‘Does a dead dog need a tag?’ He said, ‘Well that depends on…’ I said, ‘I’m not asking you what it depends on. If there is a dead dog right there right now, does it need a tag?’ And he is fuming because no one has ever talked to him like that.”

Kray showed the judge the dog’s ashes dated January and the ticket dated June.

‘The judge looks at the guy and goes, ‘I think he’s got you there.’”

Kray, an animal law attorney, spoke to the Animal Law Association Wednesday about his field. While Kray handled that case as a citizen and not as a lawyer, he has taken numerous other animal law cases.

He got his start after taking a veterinary malpractice case and a case against a pet store that was selling defective puppies.

In the pet store case, his client bought a puppy from a pet store and then found out that it had a very serious heart condition.

When the client tried to get the cost of treatment from the pet store, the store refused and offered to return the puppy only.

In discovery for the ensuing lawsuit, Kray found many of the certificates of good health required by law had a veterinarian’s stamp instead of an actual signature.

“So what they’re doing is they’re essentially taking the dogs and stamping [the certificates] and not putting anything on there in order to sell them as healthy,” Kray said.

Kray even got the veterinarian to admit that he could not possibly examine all of the puppies.

“What we’re really hoping is that if there’s something wrong with them, that they’ll bring them back and we’ll find it then,” the veterinarian told him in the deposition. Kray believes the only way the puppy mill problem will be fixed is if someone exposes it.

Although there are restrictions on puppy mills, they’re poorly enforced, Kray said, adding that the Department of Agriculture has never shut one down.

“The regulations that they have to pass to be in business are so minimal,” Kray said.

“They never have to take the dogs out for exercise if the cage is a certain size. If they have two dogs in there, they figure they’ll play so they’ll get some exercise. It’s awful.”

In the veterinary malpractice case, Kray explained that the law in Florida limits recovery to the fair market value of the animal unless there is gross negligence on the veterinarian’s part. The veterinarian spent a lot of money defending the case, even hiring an expert from Auburn University.

“Why are they spending this money? The answer is they’re sending a message to every lawyer who wants to file for malpractice,” Kray said. “‘If you’re going to file, we’re going to defend it, and you’re going to spend more money than it’s worth, so don’t bother. And it works, because unless you have a really, really egregious case of veterinary malpractice, it’s not worth it.”

This is just part of the reason animal law is a tough field to exclusively make a living in, Kray said. He recommended making it a just a part of a practice.

“Is animal law a profitable field in itself? The answer is not really,” Kray said. “There are probably a handful of lawyers in the United States that can practice solely animal law and make money at it.”